Food Systems for a Sustainable Future

31 May – 3 June 2016. Norway. The 8th Trondheim Biodiversity Conference aims to bring together decision-makers and experts from around the globe to discuss interrelationships between the agriculture and biodiversity sectors and how their policies can address shared problems and provide shared solutions for the achievement of mutually supportive and sustainable outcomes.

The Conference is hosted by the Norwegian Government in partnership with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Bank.

Input-intensive crop monocultures and industrial-scale feedlots must be consigned to the past in order to put global food systems onto sustainable footing, according to the world’s foremost experts on food security, agro-ecosystems and nutrition.

The solution is to diversify agriculture and reorient it around ecological practices, whether the starting point is highly-industrialized agriculture or subsistence farming in the world’s poorest countries.

Transformation of food systems – Dr Emile Frison, International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food) Member, Former Director General of Bioversity International

SESSION 10 – OUTLOOK 2030

UNEP’s support to countries to integrate biodiversity and ecosystem services into agricultural planning in the context of the SDGs – Ms Mette Løyche Wilkie, Director, Division of Environmental Policy Implementation, UNEP

How UNDP will be supporting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in the context of sustainable agriculture – Ms Midori Paxton, Head: Ecosystems and Biodiversity Global Environmental Finance Unit UNDP

How FAO will be supporting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda – Mr Michael T. Clark, Senior Coordinator (Governance and Policy), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Input-intensive crop monocultures and industrial-scale feedlots must be consigned to the past in order to put global food systems onto sustainable footing, according to the world’s foremost experts on food security, agro-ecosystems and nutrition.

The solution is to diversify agriculture and reorient it around ecological practices, whether the starting point is highly-industrialized agriculture or subsistence farming in the world’s poorest countries.

The report asks three key questions:

What are the outcomes of industrial agriculture / diversified agroecological systems?

What is keeping industrial agriculture in place?

How can the balance be shifted?

“Some of the key obstacles to change are about who has the power to set the agenda. The way we define food security and the way we measure success in food systems tend to reflect what industrial agriculture is designed to deliver – not what really matters in terms of building sustainable food systems” Emile Frison

“Many of the problems in food systems are linked specifically to the uniformity at the heart of industrial agriculture, and its reliance on

chemical fertilizers and pesticides. It is not a lack of evidence holding back the agroecological alternative. It is the mismatch between its huge potential to improve outcomes across food systems, and its much smaller potential to generate profits for agribusiness firms.” Olivier De Schutter, co-chair of IPES-Food.

‘This report is on point with its message. Building sustainable food systems needs multiple, diverse pathways. And whether the starting point is highly-industrialised agriculture or subsistence farming in the world’s poorest countries, looking at it from an ecological perspective will help promote solutions that are respectful not only of our environment, but of what we produce, our communities and their livelihoods”.Melissa Leach, IDS director

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AGRINATURA is a grouping of European universities and research organizations with a common interest in supporting agricultural development in a sustainable manner in order to improve people’s lives.

AGRINATURA brings its collective resources to work in partnership with international collaborators. It seeks to nurture scientific excellence through joint research, educational and training programmes and projects and advocates for greater support for agricultural research and educational programmes that contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and the new agenda of Sustainable Development Goals.